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Space Marine 2 Patch 3.0 Made a Seemingly Innocuous Change to the Game’s Ending — and Now Warhammer 40,000 Lore Fans Are Losing Their Minds

A seemingly innocuous change made to Space Marine 2 as part of this week’s big Patch 3.0 has got Warhammer 40,000 lore fans excited about potentially huge implications for the game’s story and the wider setting itself.

Warning! Huge spoilers for Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 follow:

Space Marine 2 patch 3.0, released yesterday, September 26, made a long list of welcome changes to the game, but one line in particular buried within the patch notes suggests the Emperor himself played a key role in the story all along.

Pre-patch, during the climax of Space Marine 2, we see a cutscene in which protagonist Lieutenant Titus almost dies while destroying a Chaos artifact. He then hears a voice that says: “Rise, son of Guilliman.”

According to the game’s subtitles, that line — again, pre-patch — was attributed to Marneus Calgar, Chapter Master of the Ultramarines. Fans took it as an odd thing for Calgar to say to Titus, given he also is a son of Roboute Guilliman, the primarch from which all Ultramarines are based.

Now, onto patch 3.0. Here’s the change in question:

  • Fixed an unidentified voice at the end of the story that was assigned to the wrong character.

Assigned to the wrong character, you say? So, who is the right character? The same cutscene now attributes the line to [Voice], which is ambiguous, but Warhammer 40,000 lore fans have a clear idea who this voice belongs to: the Emperor himself.

If true, this has big implications for Space Marine 2’s story, the nature of Titus’ abilities not just in this game but the first, and any role he might play in the ongoing narrative. But given Titus is now part of the Warhammer 40,000 canon (he has his own model you can play on Games Workshop’s tabletop game and the company has even released an official lore video delving into Titus’ backstory on Warhammer TV), fans are taking this as further evidence of the Emperor’s resurgence across the galaxy.

For the uninitiated, the Emperor of Mankind is the reigning monarch of the Imperium of Man whose slowly decaying body has sat immobile within the Golden Throne of Terra for over 10,000 years. But that hasn’t stopped the Emperor, the most powerful psyker to have ever existed, from seemingly stepping in every now and then to help humanity out in its darkest hours.

At this point in the ongoing (and slow moving!) Warhammer 40,000 storyline, there is growing evidence to suggest the Emperor is finally stirring, with some convinced his return proper is coming sooner rather than later. Indeed, in Warhammer 40,000 novel Godblight, the Emperor uses Guilliman as a vessel to burn down the Garden of Nurgle from within the Warp, miraculously reviving his son in the process.

Warhammer 40,000 fans now believe the Emperor is doing something similar with Titus. Titus’ unexplained immunity to the corrupting influence of Chaos during the Space Marine games may have been the Emperor’s doing all along. Indeed Titus’ ability to interact with the Chaos artifact and destroy it might be because he is blessed by the Emperor. As the ending of Space Marine 2 makes clear, the Inquisition’s suspicion of Titus and his abilities continues despite his heroics. But perhaps in the inevitable Space Marine 3 we’ll see the truth of the Emperor’s involvement, and Titus finally clear of the Inquisition’s attention.

For now, Space Marine 2 and Warhammer 40,000 lore fans are simply enjoying the debate this change has sparked, and have pointed to a tease by creative director Oliver Hollis-Leick about whether the line of dialogue in question does indeed come from the Emperor. Here’s his response:

“That is open to individual interpretation. It could be in Titus’s mind, could be Calgar, or it could be the Emperor (though GW might disagree on that). I know who I meant it to be when I wrote it but I’ll keep that to myself ;)”

IGN recently interviewed Saber chief creative officer Tim Willits about the boost he expects the PS5 Pro will give the game, and how the breakout success of Space Marine 2 has “changed everything” for the studio.

Meanwhile, Warhammer 40,000 superfan Henry Cavill has been playing Space Marine 2 and delivered his verdict, and we also have details on what fans can expect from Space Marine 2’s seasonal post-launch content model. Season 2 runs from October until the end of 2024, and includes a new Operations map, a new enemy, a harder difficulty level, a new weapon, and various other improvements.

Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.

The Day Before Devs Seemingly Resurface and They’re Asking for Your Money Again

Remember The Day Before, the once-hyped game that had such a disastrous early access launch that the Singapore-based studio that developed it, Fntastic, announced its closure just days later? Well, Fntastic appears to be back, and they’re asking for a second chance — and your money.

In yet another bizarre development to what was already a strange saga, the X/Twitter account for Fntastic resurfaced today, announcing a Kickstarter campaign and asking for “your help again to bring Fntastic back.” The post links to a website which claims to lay out the details for Fntastic’s next moves.

If your first thought is that this whole thing could be a hoax, you’d be forgiven — and frankly, it very well could be. But if it is, it’s a pretty elaborate troll, as the website is extensive. It includes an FAQ, a PDF detailing its “recovery plan,” contact info, a merch page, and more. It also links to a Discord server which has mods claiming to be Fntastic devs and a bevy of confused onlookers.

What’s more, the website even includes details and links to a new multiplayer co-op game, Escape Factory. A free demo is currently available via its Steam page, and a Kickstarter page is looking to raise $15,535 to bring the game to fruition. As of press time, the campaign has raised $139 from three backers. The YouTube account for Fntastic, which was scrubbed shortly before The Day Before’s launch, also posted a trailer for Escape Factory.

According to the FAQ section of the website, if Escape Factory does not reach its Kickstarter goal, the studio won’t be able to return.

If the whole thing seems a little tone-deaf after the disaster that was The Day Before, the website claiming to be Fntastic at least acknowledges that it might have some trouble regaining consumers’ trust. The website says they “deeply apologize to everyone for The Day Before and take full responsibility for what happened.”

“After the closure, we reflected on our past mistakes and initiated significant internal changes to drive radical improvement,” the site’s FAQ page reads. “We’ve discontinued the practice of involving external volunteers and are now fully committed to a more professional approach. Honesty, transparency, and community engagement have become our top priorities.”

In terms of who is apparently on the current team, the website admits that it’s “smaller, but it still consists of the same people who created all of our previous games.” Interestingly, the website makes no mention of Fntastic founders Eduard Gotovtsev and Aisen Gotovtsev, not even in its “About Us” section that chronicles the studio’s history.

“Honesty, transparency, and community engagement have become our top priorities.”

The website adds that Fntastic has lost all legal rights to both The Day Before and Propnight, another game developed by the studio before its closure, and elaborates further on some of the things it’s learned from The Day Before debacle.

“Over time, we’ve analyzed the factors that led to The Day Before’s unsuccessful launch,” the website reads. “These included overly ambitious goals on a low indie budget, a team without AAA tech experience, and embellished marketing, which we deeply regret.”

The X/Twitter account for Fntastic has been replying to concerned onlookers ever since the first announcement, as many are, understandably, a little hesitant to trust the studio (if this even is the studio).

Fntastic had a tumultous development cycle for The Day Before leading up to its tumultuous launch. The first trailer debuted back in 2021, gaining traction for what looked to be an exciting post-apocalyptic open world MMO. Hype gave way to skepticism, however, amid controversy over the studio’s use of unpaid volunteers, various delays, a trademark dispute, and a fan revolt that accused the whole thing of being a scam.

It all led up to The Day Before’s early access launch in December 2023, and once fans were able to finally get their hands on the game, the response was so overwhelmingly negative (even IGN gave it a rare 1/10) that the servers shut down just over a month later. Refunds were distributed to all who purchased The Day Before, with Fntastic telling one player, “This was our first big experience. Sh*t happens.”

Still, the website saying it’s Fntastic is adamant that the team has learned from its mistakes, stating that its core principles are now “honesty, transparency, and professionalism.”

IGN has reached out to Eduard Gotovtsev and Aisen Gotovtsev, as well as a previous email address for Fntastic, for clarification on the legitimacy of the website, and has not heard back yet. We’ll update this story if and when we do.

Alex Stedman is a Senior News Editor with IGN, overseeing entertainment reporting. When she’s not writing or editing, you can find her reading fantasy novels or playing Dungeons & Dragons.

The WD Black SN850X 2TB PS5 SSD with Heatsink Is on Sale Today at Amazon

Amazon is taking 30% off the popular 2TB WD Black SN850X PCIe Gen4 M.2 NVMe solid state drive (SSD) with pre-installed heatsink, now only $139.99 shipped. The WD Black SN850X is one of the fastest PCIe 4.0 SSDs on the market; it works equally well as additional storage for your PlayStation 5 console or as a blazing fast boot drive for your gaming rig. This is one of the best M.2 SSDs for 2024. (The SN850P is mentioned in the roundup, but the SN850X is the exact same SSD only without the official PS5 certification.)

2TB WD Black SN850X PS5 SSD with Heatsink

The SN850X is the latest generation of WD’s flagship Black series M.2 SSDs. In terms of performance, it’s considered a top-tier SSD with sustained read speeds of up to 7,300MBps, write speeds of 6,600MBps, random read speeds of up to 1,200K IOPS, and write speeds of 1,100IOPS. It’s faster than the previous generation SN850 thanks to newer flash chips (BiCS5 vs BiCS4) and an updated firmware.

If you plan to install this in your gaming PC, WD includes Game Mode 2.0 utility software that’s designed to tune the SSD for better performance during gaming sessions. Unless you have an unlimited budget, 2TB is the size I would recommend for a boot solid state drive; for most people, this is plenty of space for your OS and apps, and the price is still reasonable.

The SN850X also makes for an excellent SSD for your PlayStation 5 console. This is the same SSD as the officially licensed SN850P. It fulfills all of Sony’s requirements, including M.2 2280 form factor, minimum 5,500MB/s speed, and PCI-E Gen4x4 interface. Even better, this model comes equipped with a slim aluminum heatsink already preinstalled. It’s guaranteed to fit in both the PS5 and PS5 Slim consoles. The SSD comes with a five-year warranty. By the time your warranty runs out, you might have already moved onto the PS6.

If you’re looking for more SSD storage upgrade options for your PS5 console, check out our best PS5 SSD deals of 2023. There are even less expensive options if you’re not married to any brand.

Eric Song is the IGN commerce manager in charge of finding the best gaming and tech deals every day. When Eric isn’t hunting for deals for other people at work, he’s hunting for deals for himself during his free time.

Obsidian Devs Have Floated the Idea of a Pillars of Eternity Tactics Game

While Obsidian Entertainment continues to work on Avowed ahead of its launch next year, studio design director Josh Sawyer has revealed that some members of the team have expressed interest in creating a Pillars of Eternity tactics game.

The director behind projects like Pentiment, Fallout: New Vegas, and Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire spoke about the studio’s desires behind the scenes during an interview with Limit Break Network. When asked about Obsidian’s interest in creating more stories set in Eora, he mentioned that a more tactical experience is one idea that at least a few members of the team have brought to the table.

“There have been a number of people, actually, at the studio who have floated the idea of a Pillars tactics game,” Sawyer teased. “Tactics games are very interesting to me, and they occupy a really interesting space in the marketplace because the audience for them is not huge, typically, but very passionate.”

It’s an admission that may have some Pillars of Eternity fans frothing at the mouth, but this doesn’t mean a tactical experience set in that universe is in the works. Sawyer touches on why it might be difficult to pull a game like this together, explaining that, while big-name series like Fire Emblem have managed to draw attention for decades, it’s tough for many tactics games to reach that same level of success. Still, he says there are “a lot of people at the studio” who would like to see a Pillars of Eternity tactics game come to be.

“So, who knows? Maybe someday.

“It’s something that a number of people have talked about and thought about,” Sawyer continues. “It’s a hard one to make a case for. Like, how big should it be? What should the size of the team be? Every once in a while, we’ll bring it up and be like, ‘Oh, we could, maybe. I don’t know. We could, maybe…’ I will say, not just for myself, but there are a lot of people at the studio who have pitched their own versions of a Pillars tactics game. So, who knows? Maybe someday.”

Whether a Pillars of Eternity tactics game will come to be remains to be seen. In the meantime, Obsidian is still hard at work on its Xbox and PC fantasy RPG, Avowed. Set in the Pillars universe, the studio has told fans to expect an experience that falls more in line with something like its past game, The Outer Worlds, than The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim. Following a delay, Avowed is now set to launch February 18, 2025.

While we know Obsidian plans to eventually release The Outer Worlds 2, its other plans for the future remain a mystery. Last year, studio CEO Feargus Urquhart teased he would like to make at least one more Fallout game before he retires, though no such project has been announced by Obsidian yet. While a potential Pillars of Eternity 3 has also not be confirmed, Sawyer did say last year that he would make a third game so long as his team got a Baldur’s Gate 3-sized budget.

Michael Cripe is a freelance contributor with IGN. He started writing in the industry in 2017 and is best known for his work at outlets such as The Pitch, The Escapist, OnlySP, and Gameranx.

Be sure to give him a follow on Twitter @MikeCripe.

EA Will Be Sunsetting The Simpsons: Tapped Out After 12 Years

EA is tapping out of The Simpsons: Tapped Out.

The company confirmed that it has made the “difficult decision” to sunset its free-to-play mobile game in a Facebook post today after more than a decade online. The Simpsons: Tapped Out will be removed from app stores on October 31, 2024, and while it’ll continue to be playable for the rest of the year, servers will be shut down on January 24, 2025. In-app purchases have already been disabled.

“The decision to end our twelve-year journey is an emotional one,” EA wrote in its Facebook post today. “Together with our partners at The Simpsons™ and The Walt Disney company, we have delighted in bringing this game to you, the fans, and seeing how you’ve each built your own beloved versions of Springfield. It has been a remarkable journey, and we are grateful that we’ve been able to deliver 308 updates, 831 characters and including today’s final farewell 1,463 questlines.”

The Simpsons: Tapped Out launched for iOS in 2012, followed by Android in 2013, and allowed players to build their own version of Springfield. It proved wildly popular at certain points, and EA said in 2014 that it had generated more than $130 million life-to-date in digital net revenue. Its seasonal and holiday-themed updates proved especially beloved by fans.

Tapped Out also, however, received blowback as part of larger criticism surrounding the freemium game model. It was seemingly lampooned in a 2014 episode of South Park titled “Freemium Isn’t Free,” which found several characters hooked on an app that looked a lot like The Simpsons: Tapped Out.

The news also highlights something of a dearth of Simpsons video games over the past decade. Tapped Out was the most recent, preceeded by The Simpsons Game in 2007 and Hit & Run in 2003. The developers of the latter commented last year on why that beloved game never got a sequel, despite fan demand.

Alex Stedman is a Senior News Editor with IGN, overseeing entertainment reporting. When she’s not writing or editing, you can find her reading fantasy novels or playing Dungeons & Dragons.

Get a Portable 65W Dock Charger for Nintendo Switch, Steam Deck for Only $10.79

There are times when bringing along your Switch dock could be useful. Unfortunately, the original Switch dock isn’t exactly tiny, and it can be a hassle to remove it from its spot at home. If so, here’s a very inexpensive solution. Amazon currently has the Poweradd 65W Nintendo Switch Dock Charger for only $10.79 after you clip the 20% off coupon on the product page and apply 50% off code “ESBRBEUE” at checkout. This “dock” is as small as a standard wall charger, has both USB Type-C and HDMI ports just like the original Switch dock, and supports up to 65W of Power Delivery, more than enough to charge the Nintendo Switch at its maximum rate.

Poweradd 65W Portable Nintendo Switch Dock Charger

The Poweradd dock charger plugs directly into an outlet and has four ports: a USB Type-C port, a USB Type-A port, an HDMI port, and an ethernet port. The USB Type-C port supports Power Delivery up to 65W, which is enough juice to charge the Switch at its maximum rate of 18W. At its fastest rate, the Switch will continue charging even while you’re playing games. The HDMI port connects your Switch to your TV. The Poweradd supports up to 4K resolutions at 60Hz, which is more than good enough for the Nintendo Switch, since the most it can output is 1080p at 60Hz.

The biggest advantage of the Poweradd is that it is considerably smaller than the Switch dock. That makes it much easier to stow this away in your bag without having to buy yet another larger Switch case. A USB Type-C cable is already included as well, so all you need to supply is your Nintendo Switch and an HDMI cable.

This 65W model is also great for Steam Deck and ASUS ROG Ally

The Nintendo Switch isn’t the only console that works well with this dock. The Steam Deck accepts up to 40W of charging and the ASUS ROG Ally up to 65W. The Poweradd dock can charge either at the maximum charging rate. The HDMI output is also compatible with both for streaming to an external TV or monitor. Both the Steam Deck and ASUS ROG Ally can output up to 4K resolution at 60Hz over HDMI, so they can take better advantage of this charger than the Switch can.

Check out more of the best Nintendo Switch deals today.

Eric Song is the IGN commerce manager in charge of finding the best gaming and tech deals every day. When Eric isn’t hunting for deals for other people at work, he’s hunting for deals for himself during his free time.

Every Legend of Zelda Game on the Nintendo Switch in 2024

The Legend of Zelda is one of the most iconic video game series of all time. Started on the Nintendo Entertainment System in 1986, The Legend of Zelda follows various incarnations of Princess Zelda and Link as they fight to save Hyrule from the evil that is Ganon. While the series has always been popular, the Nintendo Switch has catapulted Zelda into one of Nintendo’s best-selling properties with landmark titles in Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom.

With the release of Echoes of Wisdom toward the end of the Nintendo Switch’s life cycle, it’s a great time to look back on all Zelda games available on the system. Below, we’ve compiled every Legend of Zelda game released on the Nintendo Switch.

How Many Zelda Games Are There on Nintendo Switch?

In total, there have been eight Zelda games released specifically for the Nintendo Switch. This includes both mainline entries and spinoff games that were released from 2017 to 2024. We’ve compiled every new Zelda title you can play on Switch below, so you won’t find titles available on the system through a Nintendo Switch Online subscription.

All Zelda Switch Games in Order of Release Date

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild – 2017

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild was the first Zelda title released for Nintendo Switch. Launching alongside the system, this title marked a turning point in the Zelda series, bringing a style of open world gameplay that we’d never seen before. You can traverse to anywhere you can see in the world. Link awakes after a 100 year slumber, where he is tasked by the spirit of Hyrule’s former King to save Princess Zelda from Calamity Ganon – a primal evil trapped inside Hyrule Castle.

Read our review of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.

Hyrule Warriors: Definitive Edition – 2018

Hyrule Warriors is an action hack and slash title developed by Omega Force and originally released for the Wii U. Characters from all kinds of Zelda games make an appearance, whether as playable characters or villains. The game was brought over to Nintendo Switch in 2018 in the form of Hyrule Warriors: Definitive Edition, and includes all characters, stages, and modes from the original game in addition to Breath of the Wild inspired costumes for Link and Zelda.

Read our review of Hyrule Warriors: Definitive Edition.

Cadence of Hyrule – 2019

Cadence of Hyrule is an extremely unqiue collaboration between Brace Yourself Games and Nintendo. The game combines the roguelike rhythm gameplay of Crypt of the NecroDancer with the world of The Legend of Zelda and its characters. This spinoff offers an incredible soundtrack and beautiful pixelated graphics. Up against Octavo, a musical villain, Zelda and Link team up with Cadence to thwart his plans and save the Hyrule.

Read our review of Cadence of Hyrule.

The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening – 2019

The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening is a remake of 1993 Game Boy title developed by Grezzo. This charming platformer sees Link castaway at Koholint Island, where he must solve the mystery of the Wind Fish, a legendary being said to be on the island. Unlike some of the more modern Zelda titles, Link’s Awakening takes you across many different dungeons and areas to collect the Instruments of the Sirens. If you never got the chance to play the original Link’s Awakening, this is the definitive way to experience one of the Zelda series’ most unique titles.

Read our review of The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening.

Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity – 2020

The second Switch entry in the Hyrule Warriors series, Age of Calamity is set 100 years before the events of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. Here, you can experience firsthand the events that occured in the fight against Calamity Ganon. All of your favorite Breath of the Wild cahracters are here and playable, including Link, Zelda, the Champions, and so many more. Omega Force created a fun and expansive title, with two waves of DLC you can check out after completing the main story.

Read our review of Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity.

The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD – 2021

The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD is the long-awaited remaster of the classic Wii game. Set at the beginning of the Zelda timeline, Skyward Sword takes Link to the skies as he traverses across the world to save his childhood friend Zelda. You’ll uncover the Master Sword was created as part of this journey, among other things. The remaster includes the iconic motion controls you can operate with the Joy-Con and a new button-only gameplay style for those looking to play without motion.

Read our review of The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD.

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom – 2023

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom hit the market in 2023, selling over 10 million copies in just three days as well as quite a few special edition Switch consoles. Set a few years after the events of Breath of the Wild, Link is tasked once again with finding Princess Zelda after Ganondorf is resurrected. Tears of the Kingdom takes to both the skies of Hyrule and the depths below the land. This creates one of the largest maps you’ll find in any game, leaving for hundreds of hours of exploration to be had. All in all, it’s the best Zelda game of all time and a hard one to follow.

Read our review of The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom.

The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom – 2024

But, of course, Tears of the Kingdom was not the end of this beloved Nintendo franchise. The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom was announced during June’s Nintendo Direct before launching on the Switch this week. While Echoes has the titular Princess take the story’s reigns, and features a more 2D art style à la Link’s Awakening, it should not be mistaken as a spin-off or side project. This is a full-blown, magical Zelda game, that lets you unlock your creativity to try and save Link and the rest of Hyrule in entirely new ways.

Read our review of The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom.

Available Zelda Games With Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack

If you’re interested in checking out some of the older Zelda titles, the Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack service has loads of Zelda titles from Nintendo’s older consoles. Here is every Zelda game available on the service:

  • The Legend of Zelda
  • Zelda II: The Adventure of Link
  • The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
  • The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past – Four Swords
  • The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
  • The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening DX
  • The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask
  • The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap
  • The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages
  • The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons

Upcoming Zelda Games on Nintendo Switch

Echoes of Wisdom is most likely the last Zelda title before the Nintendo Switch 2, so we’ll probably have to wait for the new console before hearing anything about the next Zelda release. In addition to the games themselves, Nintendo has also announced they will be bringing Hyrule to the big screen with a live-action Legend of Zelda movie. In terms of details, the movie’s director, Wes Ball (Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes), has expressed his desire to make a more “grounded” Zelda adaptation that feels like live-action Miyazaki.

See the full list of upcoming Switch games for the everything coming in 2024 and beyond.

Noah Hunter is a freelance writer and reviewer with a passion for games and technology. He co-founded Final Weapon, an outlet focused on nonsense-free Japanese gaming (in 2019) and has contributed to various publishers writing about the medium.

Sony Just Doubled the Price of Horizon: Zero Down on PS4 Following PS5 Remaster Reveal

Sony has doubled the price of PlayStation 4 game Horizon: Zero Dawn following the reveal of its PS5 remaster.

Eurogamer spotted the price rise in the UK (from £15.99 to £34.99) but the price also rose in the U.S., jumping from $19.99 to $39.99 on the PlayStation Store.

Horizon: Zero Dawn has been at the previous price point for years as part of the PlayStation Hits collection, and other entries such as God of War and The Last of Us Remastered have remained at the typical $19.99 price.

The price rise comes just days after Sony announced a remaster of the seven-year-old game at its 2024 State of Play broadcast alongside a friendly $9.99 upgrade price for those who own it already. The game otherwise costs $49.99, so the price rise is essentially to stop players buying it for $19.99 on PS4 and paying another $9.99 to upgrade.

This comes after Sony pulled Horizon: Zero Dawn from the PlayStation Plus Extra Games Catalog in May. The 2017 game has therefore gone from free for subscribers to $19.99 and now $39.99 in the last four months, or $49.99 for those wanting the best version.

The PS5 version of Horizon: Zero Dawn arrives October 31 with 10 hours of re-recorded dialogue and visual enhancements.

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelance reporter. He’ll talk about The Witcher all day.

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom Hits New All-Time Low Price

As we near the start of October – yes, time flies! – we’re quickly approaching the next wave of big sale events for the year. Mainly, October Prime Day is on the horizon and not long after that will be Black Friday in November. Until those sales officially kick off, though, Woot has been offering up some incredible video game deals for players to enjoy in the meantime, including this fantastic price drop on The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom to $45.

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom on Sale for $45 at Woot

This is a new all-time low price for Tears of the Kingdom. In previous sales this year, it hovered around the $50 mark, so it’s exciting to see a little extra $5 get knocked off its price tag. This is a deal that won’t stick around for very long, either, so if you’ve been itching to jump into this incredible adventure for Switch, now’s your chance!

We had nothing but high praise for this game upon release. In our 10/10 The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom review, writer Tom Marks stated that, “The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is an unfathomable follow-up to one of the greatest games ever made, somehow improving upon it in nearly every way – be that with simple quality-of-life improvements, a genuinely exciting story, or wildly creative new building mechanics that make you rethink what is possible.”

This isn’t the only game deal worth checking out right now, either. In our roundup of the best Nintendo Switch deals, you can see even more games discounted in Woot’s sale at the moment, including Luigi’s Mansion 3 and Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door. If you’d like to see what’s happening on other platforms, check out our roundups of the best PlayStation deals and the best Xbox deals.

Hannah Hoolihan is a freelance writer who works with the Guides and Commerce teams here at IGN.

Ubisoft France Strike Called Over Return to Office Order and Pay Dispute

A union has called for staff at Ubisoft’s French operation to strike over a return to office order and pay dispute.

Le Syndicat des Travailleurs et Travailleuses du Jeu Vidéo (STJV), the French Video Game Workers Union, said Ubisoft management had imposed a return to office order for three days a week for all employees “without any tangible justification or any consultation with the workers’ representatives.”

“After more than five years of working efficiently in the current remote-work context, many of our colleagues have built or rebuilt their lives (family life, housing, parenthood, etc.) and simply cannot return to the previous working conditions,” the STJV continued.

“Our employer knows this perfectly well. The consequence of its decision will be the loss of our colleagues’ jobs, the disorganization of many game projects, and the drastic increase in psychosocial risks for those who remain.”

The STJV said the return to work order was announced following the collapse of profit-sharing negotiations between Ubisoft France management and staff. “Exactly like previous salary negotiations, management’s proposals were unacceptable, the negotiations’ timetable was appalling, and management was deaf to the proposals of the various employee representatives,” the union said.

A first strike has been called for October 15 to 17. Ubisoft declined to comment when contacted by IGN.

The STJV has made a number of demands, including a formal agreement on remote work, the restoration of profit sharing at 60%, the end of an alleged gender pay gap, and a higher increase in low salaries.

“Until proven otherwise, games only exist thanks to the workers’ labor, and good games thanks to good working conditions,” the STJV added, before inviting all Ubisoft staff globally to “mobilize” as well.

This isn’t the first time the STJV has organised a strike at Ubisoft France. In February, almost 700 Ubisoft staff joined the picket line across the French cities of Paris, Montpellier, Annecy, Lyon, and Bordeaux to demand better wages.

The latest strike action comes amid a tough period for Ubisoft that has sparked an internal investigation overseen by the company’s board of directors. The recently released Star Wars Outlaws failed to sell as well as Ubisoft hoped, and it’s just delayed Assassin’s Creed Shadows into 2025. Meanwhile, Ubisoft has ditched Epic Games Store timed exclusivity for its PC games and gone back to day-one launches on Steam.

Earlier this month, a minority investor in Ubisoft called on the company to go private amid a share price slump sparked by the disappointing sales of Star Wars Outlaws.

Photo by Pascal GUYOT / AFP via Getty Images.

Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.